Kiss
by MadiWillow
Summary: A compilation of various couples' first kisses. [Requests welcome, will write any pairing]
1. Taylor and Jason

**AN:** Before I forget, I would like to credit this idea to Siriusly Amused. She is one of the best writers in the Harry Potter section – I highly recommend the Howarts High series. I got permission from her to use the idea for her own _Kiss_ story, for the HP section, in this forum.

Okay, now **EVERYONE SHOULD READ THIS AN**. I don't like it when I say someone in an AN, but people ignore it and ask me questions that I already ANSWERED in the AN, so here we go. **Requests are encouraged**. The following chapters will be based on the reviewers' requests – either by majority, or by whichever one I want to write the most. I will also write pretty much anything – slash, femslash, twincest. I won't discriminate. Although... I'm sorry, but there won't be any Coach Bolton/Sharpay, or Miss Darbus/Troy, or Chad/Math teacher. Let's keep it within the students.

You can thank Promise.Me.Forever for the first couple. :)

**Title: **_Kiss  
_**Rating:** _T  
_**Author: **_MadiWillow  
_**Summary: **_A compilation of various couples' first kisses.  
_**Genre:** _Romance  
_**Chapter: **_Taylor and Jason_

Jason Cross sat, overcome with boredom, at his Homeroom desk, slowly flicking eraser remnants onto the ground. He never thought he'd be waiting for the bell to ring, but with Zeke acting like a servant to Sharpay, and Chad and Troy having a heated argument about which women teacher's were menopausal or just plain bitchy, he found himself counting down the seconds.

His attention was averted from the second hand of the clock with the arrival of his friend, Taylor McKessie, striding into the room and taking the seat in front of him in a huff. He tentatively tapped her shoulder and asked, "Did you get my text yesterday?"

She turned around and gave him a small smile. "Yes, I did. Thanks for remembering."

He shrugged. "No problem. If there's anything I always remember, it's birthday's. Although sometimes I wish it could be Geometry..." he added.

"It _is_ a big deal, because..." she sighed. "Well, you're the only one who remembered."

"What?!" he exclaimed. "What about --"

"I mean, I understand that Gabriella is busy, being in California for the funeral and all," said Taylor quickly. "And, well, I don't really know Sharpay or Kelsi that well, or Zeke, or... Ryan... or Troy..." she bit her lip. "But Chad should've remembered, right? Or am I making too big a deal?"

"No, you're not," said Jason. "Chad's my friend, but he should've remembered."

"Did you ever forget Kelsi's birthday?" she asked.

"Well, while we were dating she didn't have her birthday. But I knew when it was. Still do!" he said proudly. "November 13th."

Taylor sighed again. "I'll talk to him about it later." She stole a glance at him. "I guess he's kinda busy right now."

Jason gave her a reassuring smile. "Good luck."

She laughed a little, and jumped at the sound of the bell.

"Get in your seats, you miscreants!"

"Here we go..." Jason groaned.

* * *

During lunch, Chad looked particularly happy and was louder and more obnoxious than normal. Jason's eyes kept flickering towards the door of the lunchroom, waiting for Taylor to walk in, a bright smile on her face, and sit down next to Chad. But after nearly twenty minutes without her presence, he began to get suspicious. After telling his friends he was going to the bathroom, he began to search the halls of East High for her.

He tried her Chemistry classroom first, thinking she had a last minute Decathlon meeting, but the room was empty. He wasn't keen on entering the girls' bathrooms, so instead he entered the library and found her sitting in one of the corner tables, her face in her hands.

"Taylor?" asked Jason slowly, sitting down next to her.

She removed her hands, and he was surprised to see her eyes swollen and blood-shot. She had a couple droplets of tears coating her eyelashes, and her cheeks were flushed.

"What's wrong?" he asked instantly.

She clamped her eyes shut and shook her head, her lips pursed. A couple tears leaked out of her eyes, and Jason leaned over to wipe them away. Taylor inhaled, before opening her eyes and saying, "Chad dumped me."

"What!? Why?" asked Jason indignantly.

Taylor shrugged meekly. "I – I don't know. He pulled me aside after Homeroom and just said... that it wasn't working out... between us." She gulped. "He didn't even say anything about my birthday."

"Taylor, I'm really sorry," said Jason earnestly.

She shook her head again. "It's just... I was so excited about having a big sweet sixteen party. My parents danced at my mom's sweet sixteen, and I wanted to be able to dance with Chad."

"Well you can still have a party without Chad, you know," Jason reminded her.

"No, I can't," she said miserably. "Who'll I invite? Gabriella's too upset about her grandma, Chad won't let Zeke or Troy go, and if Zeke doesn't go Sharpay won't go, and if Sharpay doesn't go Ryan won't go, and Kelsi won't go if Gabriella doesn't go."

"I'll go," he volunteered.

Taylor gave Jason a watery smile. "Thanks, but you don't have to say that just to make me feel better."

"No, really, I'd go!" said Jason.

"It's okay," she said quietly. Swallowing, she started to pack up her bag. "It's amazing how everything can be going great and then just fall apart in two days, isn't it?" She stood up and gripped her bag. "I'll see you tomorrow, Jason."

She turned and walked out of the library, Jason's eyes following her and staying glued to the door, long after she'd left.

* * *

Taylor lay sprawled on her queen sized bed about a week later, her hair fanned out over her pillow. She hadn't moved in three hours, but was still exhausted. She felt like she'd cried every tear, and was emotionally drained. Everything had been going so right, but now it was so wrong.

Her phone started to vibrate loudly on her bedside table. She sat still for a moment, not wanting to reach over to answer it, but finally willed herself to. She picked up the phone and held it up to her face, reading the name 'Jason'. She clicked Accept and said quietly, "Hello?"

"Hey Taylor, can you come to the park by your house?" he asked in a rush.

"Jason, do I have to?" she asked, her voice cracking.

"Please?" he begged. "I... I have a present for you."

Taylor may be a nerd, but no girl can resist a present. "I'll be there in five minutes," she answered, and hung up. She tossed her phone onto the bed and sat up, rubbing her eyes. She tied her hair into a bun at the back of her head and covered up her winkled shirt with a Harvard sweatshirt. After slipping her feet into a pair of running shoes, she left her house and dejectedly started towards the park.

She walked with a steady rhythm, her feet pounding loudly on the cement as she dragged them along. Scolding herself for her decision to come, she rationed that she would just take the gift and escape back to her house, as she felt her throat getting tighter before the wave of tears.

Turning the corner into the park, her throat instantly loosened up at the sight in front of her. Her eyes became as wide as saucers, and her mouth fell to the ground. Hanging from the trees were a series of pink and white balloons that read "Happy Birthday Taylor". A single table with two chairs sat right under it, supporting a cake with one candle. She slowly approached it, reading the icing words that spelled out "Happy Sweet Sixteen". She jumped at the sound of her favorite Plain White T's song being played, and turned to see Jason standing nervously in a tuxedo next to a stereo.

"I know you like this band, but I wasn't sure if you liked this song, so sorry if --" he rambled, but Taylor interrupted him.

"No, I love it," she said, and smiled.

"Well, uh." He cleared his throat. "Do you, um... wanna dance?"

"Sure." She looked down at her attire. "Sorry about my clothes... if I'd known --"

"It's okay," Jason interjected. "You look beautiful."

She blushed deeply. "Thanks."

He held up his hands awkwardly and as she did the same, their arms bumped. "Oh, sorry," he muttered, and she let out a small laugh. They managed to get their arms in the right places, and slowly started to sway to the music.

"This is really beautiful, Jason," she said. "Thank you so much."

"It was nothing," he said modestly.

She grinned. "You always say that, but it _is_ something. It really means a lot to me." He smiled back and held his arms around her waist tighter. "But you know... you didn't have to do this."

"Sure I did,"

She giggled. "No, you didn't. I don't want you to feel sorry for me."

"Taylor, I didn't do this because I feel sorry for you," Jason told her.

Taylor knit her eyebrows together. "Then... why _did_ you do it?"

"Because..." he stammered. "Never mind."

She removed her arms from around his neck and stepped back. "You _are_ doing this out of pity, aren't you?" she accused him, folding her arms across her chest.

"No, Taylor --" Jason started, but she cut him off.

"God, this _always_ happens to me!" she cried. "Always! Why can't I just have the fairy tale for once? Why does Gabriella get the perfect relationship? Why do I get the boyfriend who forgets my birthday and dumps me the next day? How come the guy I like only does the fairy-tale-type thing out of pity!?"

Jason was silent for a moment. "Wait... you like me?"

She raised her eyebrows. "I didn't say that..." she said slowly.

A smirk was playing on his lips as he took a step closer. "You really like me?" She stepped back.

"No!" she snapped. "And it doesn't matter, because --"

"Taylor, I didn't do this out of pity," said Jason, as he took another step towards her.

"Oh," she said. "Well then... never mind."

He brushed a piece of hair behind her ear. "I did it because I like you too."

"Really?" she said, a smidgen of hope coating her voice.

Instead of answering, he leaned his hand down and brushed his lips against hers, slipping his hands around her waist to pull her closer. In return, she deepened the kiss, running her hands through his hair. He lifted her slowly up off her feet, causing her to giggle against his mouth. He smiled against hers, as the bright lights of her sweet sixteen party shined above them.


	2. Sharpay and Ryan

**AN:** Thanks for all the reviews and suggestions! I've never written Rypay before, so this is something new, but I hope I made the Rypay fans happy. It was definitely weird writing this. I think I'm going to write Chadriella next, because I like them together, but that could change - it all depends on what ideas come to me first.

So someone suggested the pairing Ms. Darbus/Coach Bolton to me, and I think that would be a very interesting couple to write. I'm not shooting it down, but as of now I have no ideas for them. I wouldn't mind writing them though! But like I said, no adult/child relationships. Incest is as far as I'll go.

And I just realized, I'm going to be writing this for, like, EVER. I never realized how many couples are possible for this movie. Although I should know, as we just had our probability unit in math... but then again, I got a 76 percent on the test so...

**Title: **_Kiss  
_**Rating:** _T  
_**Author: **_MadiWillow  
_**Summary: **_A compilation of various couples' first kisses.  
_**Genre:** _Romance  
_**Chapter: **_Sharpay and Ryan_

Twelve-year-old Sharpay Evans stomped up the front, marble steps of her mansion-esque house and threw open the doors, not bothering to shut them after herself. Her blonde hair bobbed as she pounded her legs on the carpeted stairs in her platform, diamond-encrusted pink flip flops to the second story, turning on her heel and opening the double doors that led to her room. She slammed them behind her, jumped facedown onto her large, round bed, and shrieked into the comforter out of frustration.

Her twin brother, Ryan, poked his head into her room from their Jack-and-Jill styled bathroom. "What's up, Shar?"

She sighed angrily and stamped over to her brother. "Okay, you know how I went to Theresa's house last weekend for that slumber party?"

Ryan nodded.

Sharpay folded her arms over her chest. "Well, when we were playing truth-or-dare, I picked truth, and Kimberley asked me if I ever kissed a guy." Her cheeks tinged pink. "I said no, and told them not to tell. But they did!" She pouted. "I asked Chad if he wanted to go to the movies with me, but he said he didn't date girls that couldn't kiss." She growled. "Stupid basketball robots."

Putting his hand on Sharpay's shoulder, Ryan said, "Cheer up, Shar. Who cares what Chad thinks?"

She let her arms fall to her side. "It's not Chad. It's that bitch Kimberley who told everyone. Now the whole seventh grade thinks I'm a loser!"

"I don't think you're a loser," said Ryan. "And if it makes you feel any better, _I've_ never kissed a girl before."

She waved his comment away. "Yeah, but you do everything I say. I've never told you you could kiss a girl."

Ryan rolled his eyes but remained silent. Sharpay began to pace back and forth around her room.

"I need to think of a way to get back at those whores," she mused. "Maybe I'll have sex with someone."

Her brother snorted in laughter. "Who are you going to find to have sex with you?"

Sharpay sighed. "You're right. Well, I at least need to find someone who'll kiss me!" She collapsed onto the floor, sitting cross-legged, her head down.

"So go to the movies. There's lots of guys there," Ryan suggested.

"But they all think I'm a loser-freak who's never kissed before!" she wailed, throwing herself down so she was laying flat on her back.

Ryan cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Well, uh... I might know someone..."

She sat up straight, excitedly. "Really, Ryan?"

He nodded. "Um, well, we could... practice... together."

Sharpay blinked at him. "You mean like... you and me?

Ryan nodded again.

Standing up, Sharpay narrowed her eyes. She stepped a little closer to Ryan and said, "Really?"

"Sure," he said, his voice cracking. "Why not?"

"Maybe because we're twins?" she reminded him.

"Okay, you're right, it was stupid," he said quickly, turning red. He spun around and started towards their connected bathroom, but Sharpay's voice stopped him.

"Wait," she said. He turned his head to face her and saw her standing nervously in the middle of the room. "Let's do it."

Ryan stared at her incredulously. "You want to?"

A shadow of a smile cracked on her features. "Yeah. It might be fun."

"Okay," said Ryan eagerly, stepping fully into his sister's room. "So, uh... what do we do first?"

"Um, I think we should stand closer," she said. The two took a few steps forward until they were directly facing each other.

"Now what?" asked Ryan awkwardly.

"I think we move in closer like this..." said Sharpay, demonstrating as she moved her face in closer.

"And now?" he asked softly.

"Now we do this..." she whispered back, closing her eyes and slowly brushing her lips against his. They stood frozen for a minute, their lips glued together, unsure of what to do. But slowly, Sharpay started to massage his lips with her own, and he placed his arms around her waist. She brought her arms up to snake around his neck, and they were just about to deepen the kiss when their mother's voice called out, "Sharpay! Ryan! Are you two home?"

They jumped apart, feeling as though they were electrocuted, and stood about five feet apart as Mrs. Evans opened the door to Sharpay's room.

"There you two are!" said their mother, smiling widely. "What do you want Wilmer to make for dinner tonight?"

"Um, I'm not hungry, Mom," said Sharpay, shooting a glance at Ryan.

"Yeah, me either," said Ryan, his eyes twinkling.

Their mother frowned. "Okay. I'll see you later. You two play nice!" she said, grinning, as she shut the doors.

"Oh, we will," smirked Sharpay.


	3. Sharpay and Chad

**AN:** Yeah, I know I said Chadriella was going to be next but... well, like I also said, it all depends on what idea comes to me first, and this one just came to me! Um, so, yeah. And today was my last day of school (technically, it's Friday now, so yesterday), but I'll probably have more time for writing during break. Although on Tuesday I'm leaving for Hawaii until the next Wednesday, and then the following week I'm taking a writer's class for like a week (ugh) and it's from like 9 – 3 so... it's almost like school. :-(

Oh, and in case you're wondering, these one-shots are all independent of each other. So it's not like Taylor and Jason are dating now and Chad's a jerk, and Sharpay and Ryan are having an incestuous affair, and now Sharpay and Chad are going to kiss. I mean, I guess if you prefer to think of it that way you can, but then it'll be an incredibly dramatic story that, when it ends, every person will have kissed... everybody.

Keep those requests comin'!

**Title: **_Kiss  
_**Rating:** _T  
_**Author: **_MadiWillow  
_**Summary: **_A compilation of various couples' first kisses.  
_**Genre:** _Romance  
_**Chapter: **_Sharpay and Chad_

The blonde drama-queen stood glumly on the theatre stage, blinking in the bright lights. Her fingers brushed softly over the black and white piano keys as she looked longingly at the cushioned audience seats. For the next musical, she would be sitting in one of those red seats, watching the basketball robot and brainiac nerd taking over the one thing she had – her musicals. "_I've finally found,_" she sang softly. "_What I've been looking for._"

"You in here, Troy?"

Sharpay jumped about a foot in the air at the foreign voice. She spun around, her blonde hair whipping her face, and saw another stupid basketball player looking around backstage. "What are you doing on my stage, Chad?" she snapped.

Chad's head turned, his own big hair bouncing. Once he saw the owner of the voice, he smirked. "_Your_ stage, Sharpay?" he sneered. "I thought Troy and Gabriella were the leads now."

Narrowing her eyes, she retorted, "Just this one time. You'll see, Ryan and I will be up here again come spring."

He folded his arms across his chest and walked slowly towards her. "You really think so?" He gave her a fake sympathy look. "Give it up, Sharpay. Troy and Gabriella are the new theatre freaks."

"No they're not!" Sharpay screeched.

"Then why are _they_ on the cast list?" taunted Chad.

Sharpay glared at him, squinting her eyes so that he couldn't notice the tears welling up inside of them. "It's just a one time thing. They can't be the new theatre freaks because Troy has basketball, and Gabriella has her science club. If they get my musicals, then I have _nothing!_" Without realizing it, her voice had escalated in volume with each word she spoke until she was screaming.

Chad stared at her with wide eyes as she turned away. She stomped in her silver heels over to the piano, grabbed her music and her Juicy Couture purse, and trotted down the stairs, scolding herself for acting vulnerable.

"Hey Sharpay, wait --" called Chad, but she ignored his yells and exited the theatre, not letting her tears fall until she was safely locked in her room, the music blasting to drown out her sobs.

* * *

The next day, Sharpay avoided meeting anyone's eyes, even her brother's. She could feel Chad's gaze beating into the back of her head during homeroom, but she refused to turn around. She wished, for the first time ever in her life, that people would stop looking at her. Everyone seemed so – _happy –_ that she and Ryan weren't in the winter musical. As if they took joy in her misery. 

Gabriella tried to walk with her to math after homeroom, thinking that she and Sharpay were now friends of some sort. However, Gabriella is a member of the scholastic decathlon for a reason – she isn't stupid, and it didn't take her long to figure out she wasn't welcome. So instead she scurried over to the protection of her new boyfriend, Troy – just one more thing she had that Sharpay didn't.

"Hey, Sharpay," came a familiar tone from behind her – the last voice she wanted to hear. She sped up, walking as quickly as she could in her three-and-a-half inch stilettos, but he still caught up with her. He grabbed her arm, which forced her to turn around. After all, she couldn't be seen with _him_ touching her.

"What?" she spat, facing Chad and folding her arms. "Come to gloat some more?"

"No," he said guiltily – exactly what she was aiming for. "I wanted to apologize. I'm really sorry I said those things to you, I shouldn't have rubbed it in your face like that. I had no idea it meant --"

She held up a hand to silence him. "Don't even say it," she whispered threateningly. "You don't know anything about me, nor what's important to me."

He tilted his head to the side, cockily. "You sure about that?"

"As sure as I am about the fact that you have nothing but basketball thoughts zooming around under that mop you call hair," she countered.

Smirking, he responded, "So not that sure."

She rolled her eyes and shoved past him, once again feeling his gaze on her back as she strode through the hallway.

* * *

Sharpay stood apprehensively in the cafeteria, trying to scope out a place to sit. Everything was out of order – what was usually the skater table was filled with cheerleaders and burn outs, and the normally-brainiac table had jocks and skaters mingling. She glanced at the table on the top of the stairs, where the Drama club used to sit, but instead saw it was occupied by brainiacs and preps. _What?_ she mouthed to herself, looking around for a familiar face, before remembering that her only real friend at this school was her brother. 

"Over here, Sharpay!" came a soft, slightly nervous voice from the center table that used to sit the jocks and cheerleaders, but now housed a variety of people – Gabriella, Troy, Taylor, Zeke, Kelsi, Jason, Chad, and... her own brother.

She glanced around awkwardly at the faces staring at her, and saw from their expression that none of them really wanted her to sit there. Only Ryan, Gabriella, and surprisingly Chad showed the slightest bit of interest in her answer. Gabriella smiled warmly at her and patted the seat between her and Kelsi. Swallowing, Sharpay stuttered, "Um, okay," and set down her lunch tray, taking the seat offered.

The conversation that they'd been having before the interruption immediately started again, and Sharpay sat uncomfortably, nibbling on her nachos. She tried not to notice that Kelsi had scooted every so slightly away from her, and that the only person looking at her was Chad. She sighed and took a long drink from her water bottle, trying to get back to the old self that never cared.

She took a steadying breath and opened her mouth confidently, ready to throw herself into the discussion – which was about where Miss Darbus had gotten her extensive vocabulary solely dedicated to show business – but stopped before her voice came out by a not-so-quiet whisper from the table next to them.

"I'm really glad Sharpay didn't get the lead this time, I mean, she's so mean --"

"I know! I probably wouldn't have gone if she'd gotten the part of Minnie."

"She totally deserves it."

The other occupants of Sharpay's table had gone quiet, also hearing the whispers. Sharpay bowed her head down, once again aware that eight pairs of eyes were boring into her, and finding herself again wishing that they would stop. The tears started again, but she would be damned if she let herself cry in public for the first time for _this_. "Excuse me," she choked out, and hurriedly hopped off her chair and headed straight for the stairs.

"Sharpay!"

"Leave me alone!" she shrieked, so loudly that the entire lunchroom became quiet. "Just shut up and _go AWAY_!" She spun around, but accidently slipped on her heel and came crashing to the ground. As she lay sprawled on the hard, cold tile of the cafeteria, laughter erupted around her, and she closed her eyes, wishing it would all go away.

A pair of soft hands gripped her arms and helped her up. They brushed the hair away from her face, and when Sharpay opened her eyes, she saw a blurry Chad standing in front of her. Behind him, the entire cafeteria was still in an uproar. She shook her head sadly, and said, uncharacteristically, "They're right, I don't deserve it." She paused. "I have to go."

Sharpay turned around again, but Chad's hand on her wrist stopped her. She moved her head to face him, and perhaps yell at him again, but was more than shocked when his lips found hers. Feeling his arms wrap around her waist, she was so enamored by the kiss that she was only vaguely aware that the cafeteria had gone deathly silent; that Taylor was watching them with a dropped jaw, that Zeke was dejectedly crumbling a pile of cookies on his tray, and that Gabriella glanced at them with the tiniest hint of a perceptive smile.

She slowly, reluctantly, deepened the kiss and snaked her around around Chad's neck. His lips began to massage hers, and she moaned against his mouth, finally feeling back to the old Sharpay that didn't mind everyone staring at her.

Finally, once the two felt as though their lungs were about to collapse due to lack of oxygen, they pulled apart, lips swollen. She smirked knowingly at him, and he grinned back. He leaned in close, his breath tickling her ear, and whispered. "You deserve me."


	4. Gabriella and Chad

**AN:** I just wanna clear up, there are NO characters in the movie I dislike. I like all of them. So when I made Chad a dumbass in the first chapter, it was merely a plot device. So keep that in mind when you read this one. :-)

**Title: **_Kiss  
_**Rating:** _T  
_**Author: **_MadiWillow  
_**Summary: **_A compilation of various couples' first kisses.  
_**Genre:** _Romance  
_**Chapter: **_Gabriella and Chad_

Chad Danforth strolled through the empty halls of East High, his basketball shoes squeaking on the newly-waxed tile. He whistled cheerily as his thoughts mulled over the _awesome_ practice the basketball team just had. They'd beaten West High three weeks ago, and were now going onto regional championships in Arizona in another three weeks. He walked on the balls of his feet, wondering how they'd gotten so lucky.

He turned a corner, intending to leave the school through the front entrance, and was surprised to find someone else was still at the school. It was nearly seven o' clock, and most other clubs let out at five. He approached curiously, and found Gabriella Montez, his best friend's girlfriend, sitting on a bench near the front doors, her head down and her hands shredding a blank piece of paper in her lap.

"Gabriella?"

Her head whipped up, but her face fell at the sight of his face. "Oh. Hi."

He smirked playfully. "Sorry to disappoint you."

Gabriella's face portrayed a horrified look. "No, no, I didn't mean it like that --!" she said quickly, but Chad laughed.

"Don't worry about it." He glanced down the hall before asking her, "Why are you still here?"

She looked down again. "Uh, well... Troy said he was going to take me home today."

"How long have you been sitting here?" he asked incredulously.

Gabriella pulled out her phone to check the time, before sighing. "Two hours."

Chad blinked and sat down next to her. "You've been sitting here for two hours, waiting for Troy to take you home," he repeated slowly.

She nodded, but said defensively, "He promised! I didn't want to leave and then have him come here and not find me..."

Chad looked down the hall again, to see if Troy had arrived yet. "Well, he said he wanted to stay after practice to shoot some hoops. I think he forgot."

Her frown intensified, and it confused Chad at how much it hurt to see her like that. "You want me to go get him?" he suggested.

She let out another breath. "No, it's okay. I'll, uh... I'll just walk home." She gave Chad the biggest smile she could muster before standing up, taking one last glance down the hallway, and walking out through the East High doors.

Chad watched her walk sadly down the steps of school, hugging her books to her chest. He took out his phone, scrolled to Troy's name, and was about to call him but just before pressing Call he decided against it. Pocketing his phone again, he bounded out the doors of the school and called, "Hey, Gabriella!"

She turned around from where she stood, some forty feet away. She placed her hand like a visor over her eyes to see him over the glare of the sun, and asked, "What?"

He jogged over to her until they were standing face to face, and said, "I can give you a ride home."

Her face lit up, and she smiled. "Really? You'd do that?"

He shrugged, pretending to be nonchalant. "Sure. I mean, you're my best friend's girlfriend. I can't just let you walk home."

"Thanks, Chad," she said gratefully and he led her over to his car. He opened the passenger door for her, causing her to giggle as she slid onto the seat. He then crossed around the front of the car and entered through the driver's seat, starting the car and backing out of the parking space.

After Gabriella gave him her address, they fell into a somewhat awkward silence for a moment. Clearing his throat nervously, he started, "Uh... so how have you and Troy been?" He immediately realized how stupid of a question that was. "I mean... excluding today." He closed his eyes briefly, wondering how much more of a dumbass he could get.

If Gabriella was annoyed with the question, she didn't show it. She just shrugged her shoulders and said, "We... well, I thought he was different."

Curiously, Chad inquired, "What do you mean?"

She frowned, trying to find the right words to express her feelings. "Well... I mean, before we were dating, everything was great. He was really cute and nice, and I thought he would be the same as a boyfriend." She swallowed. "Like, I mean, this isn't the first time he's forgotten to take me home. Usually he calls to tell me he has to stay late, but there are other times like this where he doesn't call me at all. And he doesn't call me back when I ask him too, and a lot of times he ignores me completely." She paused. "I think he takes me for granted because we're dating."

Chad, taken aback, said to her, "I've never noticed anything like that."

"Most people think that because I'm, well, normally really shy, I don't talk that much. But I'm usually not talking because Troy won't talk to _me_ and I feel uncomfortable."

"Well, I don't know why Troy is acting like that. I mean, you're nice, and sweet, and beautiful, and I would give anything to have a girlfriend like you," said Chad, as he pulled up in front of her house. He instantly realized what he'd said and turned bright red, glancing over at Gabriella who was staring at him with her mouth open. "I'm sorry," he said quietly. "I shouldn't have said that."

She blinked at him, continuing to stare. After a few moments, her gaze grew uncomfortable and he squirmed. "What?" he asked uneasily.

She gulped, before whispering, "You think I'm beautiful?"

Chad looked at her strangely, and nodded. "Yes." He looked down. "I know I shouldn't say that, but --"

He stopped talking when Gabriella's lips found his. His eyes flew open in shock, but it didn't take him long to melt into her soft lips. The kiss was long and passionate, a kiss he'd found himself dreaming about for the past few weeks, but never knowing that it had been about Gabriella – his best friend's girlfriend.

She pulled back, breathless, and gave Chad a small grin. After a few seconds, though, her expression changed from delight to panic-stricken. "Oh, my God, oh, my God. I just made out with my boyfriend's best friend." Tears filled her eyes. "I just cheated on my boyfriend!"

"Shh, it's okay," soothed Chad, wiping the tears from her cheeks. She slapped his hand away and glared at him.

"This is all your fault!" she snapped, forcefully exiting the car. Confused, Chad got out of the car as well and called after Gabriella, who was running up the steps to her house.

"What do you mean _my_ fault? _You_ kissed _me_!" he yelled as he ran after her.

She stopped and spun around, pointing a threatening finger at him. "I only did it because you called me beautiful."

He rolled his eyes. "Why would me calling you beautiful make you kiss me?" he asked irritably.

"Because --" she started, but caught herself. She let her hand fall down to herself, keeping her mouth shut. Turning on her heel, she stomped to her front door, but Chad's voice called her back.

"Because why?" he asked quietly.

Her shoulders slumped down, and she turned back to face him. "Because Troy never calls me beautiful." Her brown eyes were empty.

Before he could stop himself, or even think, he had pressed Gabriella up against her front door and was kissing her again. She welcomed the kiss, running a hand through his messy hair, as his arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her closer. He ran a hand over her cheek, feeling the softness of her skin rival that of her lips.

She broke apart first, taking deep gulps of air, but this time her elated expression did not fade. "You really think I'm beautiful?" she asked softly.

In answer, Chad gently placed his lips on hers.


	5. Sharpay and Troy

**AN:** Well, I was going to try and post two Kiss chapters today, a Troypay and a Troyella, so as to satisfy everybody, but this one turned out to be a little longer then I anticipated and took me all day to finish. It's eight o' clock here now, and while that's not late, especially during summer, I have to wake up at 5:45 tomorrow morning because we're going to Hawaii!! Yay. So I won't have anything posted for a week or so, and I wanted to try and get a lot posted today to tide me over. Sadly though, I'm not sure if I'll be able to start, or even finish, the Troyella kiss. I'm still not even that sure of the plot yet. But we'll see!

Don't get angry with me now, but I actually had a lot of fun writing this! My liking for Troypay definitely grew writing this. **But I don't want to get any hate reviews** so if you don't like Troypay, don't read this. Which means I probably won't get a lot of reviews, because most people who have me on alerts are die-hard Troyella fans, but I'd rather no reviews than hate reviews. :)

**Title: **_Kiss  
_**Rating:** _T  
_**Author: **_MadiWillow  
_**Summary: **_A compilation of various couples' first kisses.  
_**Genre:** _Romance  
_**Chapter: **_Sharpay and Troy_

"No, no, no, this is all wrong! All wrong!" cried the ear-splitting voice of Miss Darbus as Troy and Gabriella, the stars of her musical, attempted to perform the dance for Bop to the Top. "Miss Montez, you have to _slide_. It's not a hop."

"Sorry Miss Darbus," said Gabriella breathlessly from her spot on the ground.

"Dear child, why are you sitting?" asked the drama teacher exasperatedly.

Her face flushed, the younger girl responded, "I'm sorry, but I'm tired and these shoes are giving me blisters."

"Yeah, Miss Darbus, it's like ten-thirty. Can we go now?" asked Troy pleadingly.

Miss Darbus glared at her leading man. "Time is but a mere number, Mr. Bolton. It has no effect on our rehearsals."

Said boy raised his eyes to the ceiling at that statement and took a seat next to his costar.

"Do we have any tissues?" cried Miss Darbus, looking around. The others actors in the musical simply looked at each other apprehensively. Ryan and Sharpay Evans, who acted as Miss Darbus's personal assistants, stood up from their places in the audience.

"Miss Darbus, there are no tissues," Ryan answered.

"What kind of school has no tissues!?" exclaimed Miss Darbus, throwing her hands up in the air.

This time, Sharpay spoke up. "Well, there are tissues... but every room is locked, Miss Darbus."

"This is ridiculous," fumed Miss Darbus. "Miss Evans, accompany Mr. Bolton to the local Wal-Mart to get tissues."

"What!?" yelped Troy and Sharpay in unison.

"Why do you even _need_ tissues, Miss Darbus?" asked Troy.

Miss Darbus folded her arms across her chest. "They're not for me – they're for Miss Montez. If you put tissues in your shoe, between where your toe hits the shoe, it prevents blisters." She rolled her eyes, as if this were the most obvious explanation. "Now go."

Troy glanced uneasily at Gabriella, who gave him an encouraging smile. He sighed in defeat and hopped off the stage, not caring that he was still in the ridiculous glittery, button up shirt and black slacks required in the scene. He grabbed his denim jacket to protect against the chilly night air, and stomped out of the auditorium, Sharpay right behind him. He led her, without speaking, to his car in the parking lot and entered through the driver's door, waiting for her to get in. As soon as her door was shut, he pulled out of the East High parking lot and sped down the road to the nearest Wal-Mart.

"What's _your_ problem?" asked Sharpay bitchily after a minute.

"The fact that I have to go to Wal-Mart at eleven o' clock with you is my problem," Troy responded.

Sharpay rolled her eyes. "You think if it was up to me, I'd be here with you?" she snapped. "I'm just as unhappy about this as your are."

Luckily for them, the store was only about a mile away, so by the time Sharpay had finished talking they were already pulling into a parking space. "Look, let's just get these damn tissues. Wait here."

He hopped out of the car and started his way towards the entrance of the store when he heard the clacking of heels behind him. "What are you doing?" he asked Sharpay rudely as she came up next to him.

She gave him a look. "Are you kidding me? I'm _not_ going to sit in your unlocked car at ten-fifty at night in an empty parking lot."

"Whatever," he mumbled. They entered the store and made a beeline for tissues, grabbing a small box.

"Should we get two?" suggested Sharpay.

"Why would we get _two_?" Troy inquired irritably.

She shrugged. "Maybe so we don't have to go out at midnight to do this again."

He groaned. "Fine!" He grabbed another tissue box and they two made their way over to the cashier, a woman with pasty skin, messy black hair pulled into a bun, and a faint mustache on her upper lip who seemed to have no idea what she was doing. She scanned the items and deposited them in a large plastic bag before ringing up their total. "Um, twenty dollars and four cents," the woman recited in a monotone voice.

"Twenty bucks? For two tissue boxes?" asked Troy incredulously.

The woman leaned in towards the computer, and said, "Oh, my bad. I accidentally scanned each one twice." She laughed wheezily as she typed in a couple numbers on the register, and the prices were reduced to ten dollars. Troy handed over a ten and told her to keep the change. "We close in a few minutes," she called after him as he walked away.

"Wait, I have to use the bathroom!" Sharpay announced.

Troy blinked at her, speechless. "You couldn't do that while I was buying the damn tissues?"

She gave him a look. "I didn't have to go then."

He threw up his hands in frustration. "What are we, seven?"

"Look Troy, a girl's gotta go when a girl's gotta go," she informed him, before turning on her heel and striding into the ladies room.

He groaned loudly, and followed her pathway, except instead entering the men's room. He set the bag down next to the sink and let the cold water run. Glancing at himself in the mirror, he wondered what the hell was wrong with him.

_Why am I being such an ass?_ He asked himself. _She didn't do anything wrong... maybe I'm trying to cover up my--_

Troy splashed icy cold water onto his face to stop his thoughts from continuing out of his control. "I'm just tired," he told himself firmly. "That's all. I've been up since six and have been moving non-stop all day. I'm tired, and cranky. That's why I'm being an asshole." He stood there for a few minutes, gripping the sink and taking deep breaths, until a shrill voice sounded from the other side of the door.

"Come on, Troy, let's go!" came Sharpay's demanding voice, pounding on the door of the men's room. "What are you doing in there?"

"Coming!" he said quickly, grabbing the plastic bag and exiting the bathroom.

Sharpay met him at the door, her eyes narrowed and her arms crossed. "You gave me grief for using the bathroom, yet you sit in there for hours doing God-knows-what?"

"Hours, Sharpay?" smirked Troy. "Maybe two minutes."

"Same thing," she retorted.

"Can we just get the hell out of here?" he asked, trying to keep his angry comments to himself. He reached out to open the door, but it was locked. "What the --" he muttered under his breath. He pulled harder, but it wouldn't budge.

"What are you waiting for?" asked Sharpay from behind him.

"The door's locked," growled Troy as he continued pulling on it.

"It's _locked_!?" Sharpay exclaimed, panicked. She ran over to the other door and tried to pull it open, but that one too remained stuck. "Why is it _locked_!?"

Troy peered through the glass doors to the parking lot, where there was only a solitary car – his. "Looks like the sales lady locked up," he said grimly.

"No!" cried Sharpay. "No, we can't be locked in a Wal-Mart!" She started pacing, talking more to herself than Troy. "I can't be stuck in a Wal-Mart with Troy! This is horrible! I'll be here all night! Ugh, what am I going to _do_ with him?"

"I'm right here," said Troy, annoyed. "Look, it's a big store. If you wanna stay away from me, just go in the makeup section or something. Trust me, I won't follow you."

"Phones!" she said suddenly. "We can call the cops to get us out!" She looked around wildly. "Are there any pay phones?"

Troy glanced around too, but saw none. He walked around the entrances to the store, however, found no pay phones. He swore. "What kind of store has no pay phones?"

"The kind of store that's around in the era of cell phones," responded Sharpay. "Wait – cell phones!" She opened her purse and pulled out her Sidekick, flipping the screen up. Just as she began dialing 911, however, the screen went blank. "What the hell!?" she said. She turned on her phone again, only to have it immediately shut off again, citing Low Battery. "Low battery? _Low battery_?" she yelled. "Well, what the fuck does that mean?"

"I think it means that there's no more battery power," said Troy sarcastically.

Sharpay glared at him. "Thanks, Einstein. Get out your phone, then."

Troy jammed his hands into his pockets, but nothing was there. "Oh, shit," he groaned. "I left my phone in my pockets – back at the school."

"Great! Just great!" she burst out. "We're stuck in a huge department store, with no phones or any way to get out. Could this _get_ any worse?"

As soon as she spoke those words, the lights in the store flickered out, plunging them into a sea of darkness. "It just did," said Troy dryly.

"T-Troy?" came Sharpay's quivering voice. "W-where are you?"

"I'm right here," he said, he demeanor changing at the sound of her terrified voice. He reached out and grabbed her wrist, making his presence known.

"Fantastic. Now it's pitch black in here," she said, shaking. "And it's freezing."

Troy cleared his throat. He shrugged off his jacket and held it out to here. "Here," he said.

Sharpay gratefully accepted it and, from what his eyes could see, gave him a small smile. "Thanks," she said quietly, slipping it over her chilly arms.

"Well, uh," he began awkwardly. "Our eyes will get used to the darkness soon. And I'm sure Miss Darbus will get worried when we don't come back."

"Or she'll get so impatient that she'll just barge in, not caring that we were locked up," said Sharpay.

Troy laughed. "Yeah, that's probably the more likely scenario."

They stood in silence for a few moments, Sharpay still shivering slightly and Troy standing awkwardly. "Well..." said Troy after a moment. "We could... play a... game?" he suggested lamely. She gave him a strange look. "Well, come on! When you were little, didn't you always wanna get locked inside a toy store at night?"

Sharpay looked thoughtful. "No, not really. I mean, I always had everything I wanted so there was no need too."

He rolled his eyes. "Oh, yeah, I forgot." He paused, glancing around. "Well, I guess we can just... sit here... and do nothing."

Sharpay walked over to a wall, near the bicycles, and slid down onto the floor. Troy followed and sat down next to her, and the two remained in silence for a while.

"Why did you want to be in the musicals?" asked Sharpay suddenly, the presence of sound after so long causing Troy to start. "I mean, for so long it was just basketball, basketball, basketball, and suddenly is was all singing, singing, singing."

"Well..." Troy started. "I don't know. I guess because I'd been pushed to played basketball all the time, and when I found out I could sing I just wanted to take advantage of the opportunity."

She turned to look at him. "And you say I'm spoiled."

"What are you talking about?"

"Nothing," she said quickly. "Never mind." As a subject changer, she asked, "What's going on with you and Gabriella?"

Troy just shrugged. "I don't know. I mean, we almost kissed after I won that basketball game but... nothing's really come out of it. She's really shy."

"And you're just noticing this?" inquired Sharpay nastily.

"Yeah, Sharpay, it's new to me," said Troy sardonically. "I always knew she was shy, but after I kissed her on the cheek and, well, after our almost-kiss, you'd think she'd get it that I like her." He sighed. "But she's still all shy about it and every time I try to make a move, she runs away."

"Well maybe she doesn't like you," said Sharpay cautiously.

Troy glanced at her. "Are you sure you're not biased?"

She glared back. "Are you sure you're not cocky?"

He shook his head. "Whatever. What about you and Zeke?"

She raised an eyebrow. "What about him?"

"Well, he told me that after the championship game you jumped on him and said you liked his cookies,"

Sharpay nodded slowly. "And...?"

"And so is there a relationship building off of that?"

"What!?" she cried. "No. I liked his cookies. How does that translate into 'I like you'?"

"I guess the fact that you jumped on him kinda gave him that idea," said Troy matter-of-factly.

She brought Troy's jacket tighter around herself. "Well, when I'm in a really good mood, I jump on people. Is that so weird?"

"No... not at all," said Troy, but Sharpay didn't clue into his sarcastic tone. They again sat in silence for a while. The thick tension between them could be cut with one of Sharpay's long nails, and the two were very aware of it. "Well, uh... I'm going to go get... a deck of cards or something," said Troy uncomfortably, standing up. He'd barely got five feet when a large noise sounded from somewhere above them, like a heavy object had been dropped onto the roof.

"What was that!?" whispered an alarmed Sharpay. "Troy, where'd you go?"

"I'm right here," said Troy softly back. There was a scuffling behind him and his arm was jerked back as Sharpay latched onto it.

"What was that?" she asked again, her voice trembling.

"I don't know," he answered. "Maybe it was just a pipe or something."

"A _pipe_ doesn't make that kind of noise, Troy!" hissed Sharpay. "I think it's a burglar." She gasped loudly. "Oh, my God, are we gonna die?"

"We're not gonna die," said Troy, keeping his tone strong. "Don't be ridiculous."

Sharpay shuddered. "I can't die now! I can't die in a Wal-Mart in the middle of the night with Troy Bolton!"

"Stop being so dramatic," snapped Troy.

"You really are clueless," said Sharpay aggressively.

Troy subconsciously brought his hand to rest on her lower back. "Let's go to the lamps section or something." Keeping his hand around her waist, he guided her through the store, picking up a game of Clue on the way. They turned on a bunch of the lamps in the lamp aisle and sat on the cold tile ground. "Wanna play?" he asked, holding up the game.

"I call Miss Scarlett!" she said instantly.

Twenty minutes later, their shoes next to them as they sat cross-legged, Sharpay pumped her first in the air triumphantly. "Ha-ha! I knew it was Professor Plum. He has such a guilty look to him."

"So does Mrs. White," Troy pointed out. "Damn, I was so sure it was her."

Sharpay stuck her tongue out playfully at him. "Don't like losing, do you, Troy Bolton?"

"It's not really one of my favorite things," he answered.

"Oh, really?" taunted Sharpay. She stood up and started to dance in a circle. "I beat you, I beat you, I beat you," she chanted in a sing-song voice.

Troy narrowed his eyes. "Hey."

Sharpay pretended not to hear him and danced over to the end of the aisle. "I beat Troy Bolton in Clue!" she sang.

"That's it," said Troy threateningly, but he had a hint of a smile on his features. He stood up and started toward Sharpay, but she squealed and jumped out of his grasp. She ran away from him, her bare feet slapping the ground. She could hear him running after her, causing her to giggle uncharacteristically. Feeling a tug on her arm, she looked back and saw him latching onto her wrist. She wriggled out of his jacket and continued running. She glanced back quickly and saw him discard the jacket and keep running. She managed to reach the cash registers before Troy grabbed her around the middle. She screamed in surprise as the headed towards the hard ground, but it somehow ended up with Troy breaking her fall. He moaned.

"Are you okay?" she asked, concerned.

He winked and grinned slightly. "I wasn't going to let _you_ hit the ground."

She rolled her eyes. "Oh, Troy Bolton, you're my hero," she droned mockingly. "Where do I sign up for your fan club?"

"Hey, until about a month ago, you were the _president_ of my fan club," he reminded her.

She shrugged, still lying on top of him. "Well, nothing ever happened so I resigned from my post. Baylee is the new president."

"Ah. That really does explain a lot," said Troy seriously, causing her to laugh against her better judgement.

When she opened her eyes again, she saw Troy staring at her. "What?" she asked. "Is – do I have something in my teeth?" she asked hurriedly, running a hand through her hair.

Instead of answering, Troy crashed his lips against hers. Overcome by this jolting action, Sharpay was still for a few seconds, Troy's mouth lingering over her own. Sharpay, however, is not one to sit idly by, so only a few seconds later she applied some pressure of her own, responding passionately. Troy cupped his head in his hands and gently rolled over, putting him on top. She wrapped his arms around Troy's neck and brought him closer to her, whilst wrapping her legs around his waist.

"Anyone in there?" came a booming voice from outside.

The two of them jumped about a foot in the air. Sharpay roughly shoved Troy off of her and yelled, "Yes! There's two people in here!" She stood up and wiped her mouth, ran a hand through her hair, and brushed her jeans. Troy stood as well, pulling down his shirt. He sent Sharpay a smirk, which she returned.

She doors suddenly opened, and a police officer entered the store. He glanced around before catching sight of the two teens in the dark, standing about ten feet apart. "Did you two get locked in here?"

Sharpay nodded. "We had to pick up something but went to the bathroom before we left. When we tried to leave, we found that the sales woman had already locked up," she recited.

The officer nodded. "Now, you two didn't mess with anything, did you?"

The two shared a deliberate glance, grinning ever so slightly.

"Oh, just a little," Troy answered, his blue orbs sparkling.


	6. Gabriella and Troy

**AN:** I can't believe I got this done! I amaze myself sometimes. Well, it's twelve-thirty, and I have to get up in four and a half hours, but I'll be able to sleep so much more knowing that all my ideas for the Kiss story so far has been completed and posted. And now, for the week I'm away, everyone will be happy to read either a Troyella or a Troypay. :) This may seem really corny and rushed, but I kept revising it and this is the best I got. Hope you like it!

I hope this is good, because there are approximately 230482348 Troyella-first kisses on this site, so I tried to make it as original as possible. Give me your thoughts – and keep requesting! Don't worry, I **will write every couple.**

**Title: **_Kiss  
_**Rating:** _T  
_**Author: **_MadiWillow  
_**Summary: **_A compilation of various couples' first kisses.  
_**Genre:** _Romance  
_**Chapter: **_Gabriella and Troy_

Gabriella Montez was _freaking out_.

Not only was she about to perform in her first musical ever – which included singing and dancing in front of others, _many_ others – she also had to kiss Troy Bolton in front of the entire school and their families. And, as if it couldn't get any worse, she also had to worry about the fact that this was her very first kiss _ever_.

She was going to get her first kiss that night.

She was going to get her first kiss in front of hundreds of people.

She was going to get her first kiss in front of hundreds of people with _Troy Bolton_, hottie superbomb, basketball _and_ musical star.

What if she was a bad kisser? What if she, like, slobbered all over him? Or worse... what if he yelled "EW!" after their kiss, in front of everybody, and stormed off stage whilst yelling that he quit?

Sharpay would never be able to let her live it down.

Gabriella tried to get Miss Darbus to let them practice the kiss beforehand, much to the amusement of Kelsi, who thought she wanted to practice for a different reason, but Miss Darbus blatantly refused. "I want the audience to witness Arnold and Minnie's first kiss as it happens!" she'd cried dramatically. "No practicing shall be done."

"But... what about the other performances?" Gabriella had inquired, confused.

Miss Darbus had laughed, in a demeaning manner. "Oh, Miss Montez, opening night is always the best performance."

So now, here Gabriella was, dressed in her costume for the opening sequence, _freaking out_.

"Hey," came a soft voice from behind her, causing her to fly about ten feet into the air.

"Oh, Troy, it's just you," said Gabriella, a hand over her chest. However, it wasn't 'just Troy' – it was more like 'oh, my God, Troy, why are you here, you're making me freak out even more!'. But she couldn't say that. Instead, she said, "Um... what's up?"

He gave her a look. "Well, I don't know, today I had a big Geometry test that I think I failed, and I have an English project to work on tomorrow, and, oh yeah, the musical I'm starring in is about to start and I'm just a little nervous. What about you?"

She gave a half-shrug. "Same as you, except I think I passed the Geometry test."

Troy grinned, causing her heart to melt. His blue eyes sparkled, the same way he did when he saw something he liked. "So you're not that nervous?"

"Oh, no, I'm incredibly nervous," she said matter-of-factly. "I'm actually freaking out, for lack of a better phrase."

"Come on, you'll do great," he soothed, hitting her shoulder lightly. "You're an amazing singer."

Oh yeah, the singing. Well, she wasn't worried about _that_. "Thanks."

He eyed her suspiciously. "Something's bothering you."

"Have you not been paying attention?" she asked him, gesturing to the opening of the curtains, where a full auditorium was visible. "_That's_ bothering me."

"I think there's something else bothering you," he said curiously.

Uh oh. "Nothing's bothering me!" she said unconvincingly, forcing a fake laugh. "Troy, you're silly."

"I'm silly?" said Troy, letting out a laugh. "Since when do you say 'silly'?"

She shuffled her feet, looking down. "Since your questions are making me uncomfortable?"

"Why?" Troy put his hands on Gabriella's shoulders. "Come on, Gabriella, what's wrong? You can tell me."

"Can I really?" she asked him seriously.

He gave her a small grin. "Of course."

She sighed deeply. "Okay, fine. I'mnervousaboutthekiss," she said quickly.

Troy stared at her for a minute, his eyes slightly narrowed, before letting out a breath. "Yeah, I didn't get that."

Gabriella swallowed and took a deep breath. "I said, I'm nervous about the kiss."

He _definitely_ heard that time. His arms dropped from their place on her shoulders and he blinked.

"I know, I know, it's so weird, but I've never been kissed before," she ranted, "And I'm really nervous, and I'm afraid I'll be a bad kisser and that you'll never talk to me again, or that you'll push me down or yell 'DISGUSTING' in front of everybody, and that would be really bad, and I really hope that if I kiss bad you'll still talk to me because I really, really like you, Troy, and so I'm, like, freaking out." She took a deep breath, and realized all too late what she'd said in her rant. Her face turned tomato red as Troy continued to stare, his mouth slightly open. "Um... sorry." He still said nothing. Kelsi started playing a few notes on the piano, signaling the start of the show. "I enter from stage left, so... I gotta go. And sorry!" she repeated, before scurrying off to the other side of the stage, cursing herself for her big mouth.

Her entrance wasn't for another five minutes, so while waiting she leaned against the edge of a set, trying to figure out what caused her outburst. Was it due to the fact that she was, indeed, freaking out? Or maybe it was because she'd gotten so tired of keeping her feelings bottled up inside that once she started, she couldn't stop?

Oh, God, what was Troy going to think of her? Was he going to ignore her from now on? What if the performance bombs, because of the awkwardness between them? What if he quits the musical because of _this_, and not the God-awful kiss they were about to experience together? She shook her head slowly, her face in her hands. She had just made it ten times worse.

"Miss Montez, you're going to ruin your makeup!" hissed Miss Darbus. "And you're on!"

Gabriella jumped and quickly ran onto the middle of stage, under all the bright lights. She froze, and blinked, staring at the dim audience members. She looked at Troy, who was watching her, his eyes twinkling. And that, above all, gave her confidence.

"I heard your pleas, Arnold," she said, her voice strong. "And I'm here to tell you that I may be the one you're looking for."

"Minnie?" said Troy, his voice filled with shock. "But Minnie, you have no ambition for show business – your future has always been as a painter!"

She flipped her hair over her shoulder. "Yes, well, I've recently been informed of my talented singing voice, so I figured I could be your way into the business."

"Well, how do I know this isn't a hoax?" asked Troy suspiciously.

Gabriella smirked at the audience, and Kelsi began to play her piano. Gabriella, feeling uncharacteristically sure of herself, belted out the solo opening number, the song that was used to prove to Arnold of Minnie's true singing talents. Troy watched, in awe, as Gabriella danced around the stage, singing all the notes perfectly. At the end of her performance, the audience members cheered and whistled, but Gabriella was only watching Troy's expression. It was blank, giving her no clue as to what he was feeling.

The first act went magnificently, but Gabriella didn't have a chance to speak to Troy during intermission. They were both being pulled this way and that, getting their wardrobe and makeup fixed, which caused Gabriella to freak out even more. The kiss was at the very beginning of the second act, and she still had no idea what Troy was thinking. She'd pretty much ruined it in the worst way possible.

This time, Gabriella started off the second act. She once again entered from stage left, and walked along the very edge of the stage, a flower tucked behind her ear and a thoughtful expression on her face. She couldn't hear or see him, but she knew that after standing for about half a minute, Troy appeared on stage, watching her. After a few seconds, he said, "Fancy seeing you here, Minnie."

She feigned surprise and whipped around, her dark curls flying. "Arnold!" she gasped. "I-I didn't know you were there."

He walked slowly up to her, meeting her at center stage. Her heart thumped loudly in her chest as her drew nearer.

"I've been thinkin' about you a lot, Minnie," said Troy quietly, but loud enough for the people in the very back row to hear.

"Have you, now?" Gabriella said. "Is this a good thing?"

Troy shrugged, his hands in his pocket. "Depends on how you look at it."

Gabriella folded her arms across her chest and smirked. "Well, why don't you tell me what you've been thinkin' about, Arnold, and I'll tell you if it's good or bad."

Clearing his throat, Troy said, "Well, I've been thinkin' about how I always can't wait for us to see each other, and how I still get butterflies in my stomach whenever I see you. And I've been thinkin' about much I love singing with you, and that I wish we could do it forever."

Gabriella, as Minnie, had her arms fall to her sides, looking at Troy with a fake stunned expression. She could almost hear the crowd holding their breath.

"Wow, Arnold," breathed Gabriella. "If I'da known that you feel the same way I do, then --"

"You feel the same way?" interrupted Troy.

Gabriella bowed her head down, and said sheepishly, "Well, yeah."

The auditorium was so quiet that Gabriella swore everyone could hear how loud her heart was pounding, she was so nervous. She glanced up at Troy, who was smiling at her, before he grabbed her by the waist and kissed her. She was shocked, her eyes wide for a second, as there were still supposed to be a few more lines before the kiss. She could almost envision Miss Darbus having an episode backstage, and was surprised to realize she didn't care. She smiled against Troy's lips and wrapped her arms around his neck. The kiss was romantic and passionate, and Gabriella completely forgot it was her first one – it just felt so right.

They pulled apart, and looked around in astonishment at the cheers of the crowd they hadn't heard earlier. Troy grinned at her and, once the applause died down, said, "I feel the same way too," and she instantly knew that he was no longer in character.


	7. Kelsi and Jason

**AN:** I want to firstly apologize to any slash fans who are anticipating slash kisses. I have never written, nor really read, a slash before, so I'm having trouble finding ideas on how to do them. I don't want to be biased though, so I promise I will eventually write them, but please bear with me as I try and work through my dilemmas. And I don't mean that in a bad way, like I'm trying to 'get over the horror of slash' or anything, because that is SO NOT the case, just that I've never done it before.

Thanks for the great response on the Troypay and Troyella kisses! I'm glad I was able to get the two biggest shippings' kiss out before I left for Hawaii, and I'm glad you all seemed to like them. I'm really proud of both of them – I like the interactions between Troy and Sharpay in the first one, and I think I actually wrote a fairly amusing story for the Troy and Gabriella one. Sorry, I'm being conceited.

Okay, this Jelsi kiss is PURE FLUFF. No substance, just a big ball of pointless FLUFF. If you're looking for a dramatic, heartfelt story... well, go back and reread the Chadpay or Chadriella kisses. This one is just FLUFF FLUFF FLUFF. Oh, and I wrote this while I was sitting under a cabana at the Grand Wailea Resort in Maui. :)

**Title: **_Kiss  
_**Rating:** _T  
_**Author: **_MadiWillow  
_**Summary: **_A compilation of various couples' first kisses.  
_**Genre:** _Romance  
_**Chapter: **_Kelsi and Jason_

Somehow, Kelsi Nielson had found herself being pushed along with the crowd of cheering pupils at the end of East High's Victory Day to the after-party at Jason Cross's house. All she remembered was said boy, whom she happened to have been crushing on for, like, ever, yelling for the entire, elated gymnasium to hear, "Party at my house!", and then Gabriella Montez grabbing her hand, dragging her with the horde of people out the school doors and down the block to Jason's house.

But now, she was no longer in Gabriella's company – in fact, she was completely alone. Gabriella was with Troy, Taylor with Chad, and Sharpay and Ryan – who were not her favorite people in the world, but would be good enough in a drastic situation such as this – were entertaining a group of people with their life story, by, of course, singing and dancing. So, Kelsi could be found standing by herself, looking incredibly awkward in her red single-strapped top and gold capris. She reasoned with herself that she would find her black hat before ditching the party to instead... hang out with her parents.

As if her mind was readable, a voice said from behind her, "I think this belongs to you."

Kelsi whipped around and saw a flash of black. She was ready to thank the person before racing out of the house, but froze. Standing before her was none other than the occupant of the house, giving her a side grin and holding out her hat for her to receive.

"I, um... yes," she said lamely, taking the hat. She placed it tentatively on her head and looked at Jason again, blushing. He was no longer in his uniform, but instead a white and red Wildcats tracksuit, a white wife-beater as a shirt.

The two stood nervously across from each other, Kelsi purposely looking at anything but his face. "Can I show you something?" he asked, surprising her.

She glanced up at him, his expression hopeful. "Um... sure."

He beckoned for her to follow him, and the two wove through the sea of people until reaching the stairs. He grabbed her wrist, sending her heart a flutter, and led her up the stairs, down a hallway, and into a room.

His room

Oh, God.

"Oh," was all she said upon entry, glancing around at all the basketball paraphernalia, the clothes littering the floor, and the messy, unmade bed.

"Sorry about all this," he apologized, gesturing around. "I didn't count on the party being here."

"It's okay," she said quickly, turning redder by the second. Why did he bring her to his room? What did he want to show her?

He picked up a couple dirty shirts and tossed them onto his bed, by way of cleaning, and Kelsi was able to notice that his carpet was cream colored. "Come here." He motioned for her to approached him. She carefully tread across the floor to where he was standing, on the opposite side of the room. He opened his window and climbed through it so that he was crouching on the roof. "Come on," he said again.

Kelsi placed her hands on either side of the window pane and heaved herself through it. She stood, unsteadily, on the window sill, fighting to keep her balance. Jason took her hand and helped her step down, and then led her up the sloping roof. They stopped to sit next to each other on a flat section of the room, situated over the window they had just climbed out of.

"Wow," Kelsi breathed as they sat.

"Yeah, it's a nice view," he agreed. "I like coming up here."

Kelsi let her eyes rove around what seemed like all of Albuquerque, and maybe even more. The streetlights acted as little fireflies, littering the sea of houses and trees. She shivered, getting a sudden dose of the chills.

"Are you cold?" asked Jason, glancing at her.

"No." She shook her head. "I'm fine."

He pointed at her arms. "You have goosebumps."

Glancing down, she remarked, "Oh. Yeah, well." She shrugged.

"Here." Jason let his jacket slide off his arms and he held it out to her.

She shook her head again. "No, it's okay."

Ignoring her protests, Jason draped the jacket over her shoulders. She sheepishly let her arms slither through the sleeves and muttered, "Thanks."

They settled down next to each other, leaning their backs against the sloped roof. Kelsi could swear that her heart was beating loud of enough to be heard, and she swallowed. Her fists clenched and unclenched repeatedly, a nervous habit.

With a sudden surge of confidence that she couldn't explain, Kelsi announced, "My hands are kinda cold."

Jason turned her head slightly and insinuated, "There are pockets right here." He pointed.

Kelsi frowned, her heart sinking, as she shoved her hands into the jacket pockets. "Oh, okay."

There was a couple seconds of noiselessness, as Kelsi contemplated the very high possibility that she had been wrong about Jason liking her. _Well_, she thought, her stomach empty, _it wouldn't be the first time._

"Can I see your hand?" asked Jason, out of the blue. Puzzled, Kelsi obliged and held up her right hand. Jason unexpectedly reached out and intertwined the fingers of his left hand with those of her right.

Thoroughly stunned, she turned her head to face him, heat creeping up her neck and cheeks. He looked back at her, his thumb slowly caressing the back of her hand, and grinned. "I figured this would keep your hand warmer."

She smiled and nodded. Turning her head back to face forward, the two faded into silence. Not believing the amount of warmth that filled her since the second her skin made contact with his, she surveyed the black night sky, sprinkled with white stars. "It's so gorgeous out here," she said softly, replacing the lull with sound.

"Yeah, you are."

It took a moment or two for Jason's words to register in her mind. As soon as her brain finally clicked, she whipped her head to the side again, facing him. He was staring at her, still running his thumb over her hand. "W-what did you say?" she asked quietly.

Jason shifted, so that he was sitting up, staring down at her. "I said, you're gorgeous, Kelsi," he repeated, slower this time. He reached down and tucked a lock of her brown hair behind her ear.

She sat up too, so that her face was hovering mere inches away from his own. Jason glanced at her lips and, their hands still linked, bent down and filled the space between them.

Kelsi's limbs seemed to have a mind of their own; her left leg rested on top of his right, and her left arm snaked its way around his waist. Jason's right hand cupped her face as the kiss grew deeper.

"Jase? You in here?" came Chad's voice, floating through the open window.

Jason pulled back from Kelsi, reluctantly. "What, Chad?" he asked irritably, his hand on Kelsi's knee.

"Dude, are you on the _roof_?" Chad asked incredulously.

Jason rolled his eyes, and Kelsi stifled a giggle. "Yes," said Jason shortly. "Do you need something?"

"Sharpay and Ryan are trying to convert the party into a showing of The Sound of Music." He chuckled. "They're forcing everyone to go outside, and will only let them back in if they buy a ticket."

Sighing, Jason called, "I'll be right there." He waited, listening as Chad left his room, before turning back to Kelsi. "I guess we'd better go," he declared regretfully.

"It's okay," she assured him.

He grinned. "Come on, let's bust up the Drama Twins show." The two stood up and walked slowly down the roof toward the window. Kelsi stumbled slightly, causing Jason to place his hand on her hip to steady her. She climbed delicately through the window, and Jason jumped cat-like in after her. The both of them crossed his room and exited out the door, their hands never parting.


	8. Taylor and Chad

**AN:** I hate the ending for this one. I'm sorry, but I do. Ergh. Anyway, I thought of this couple and it took a while for me to choose a pairing for it. I wanted another off-the-wall coupling, but sadly, I couldn't think of one. I was avoiding using Sharpay again as well, because she's already been in three chapters. But now, so had Chad. I'm going to try and use Zeke next time around, since he hasn't been in it yet.

Oh, and if you haven't yet, please read my new story _While You Were Sleeping_ and give me your thoughts!

**Title: **_Kiss  
_**Rating:** _T  
_**Author: **_MadiWillow  
_**Summary: **_A compilation of various couples' first kisses.  
_**Genre:** _Romance  
_**Chapter: **_Taylor and Chad_

The harsh sun was beating down on the town of Albuquerque, New Mexico. It was probably the hottest day of the year, around ninety-five degrees. Taylor McKessie especially thought it was grueling, as she was being forced to wash her father's filthy car. She growled in annoyance as she ripped off her shirt – glad that she'd decided to wear a bathing suit under her tank top and workout shorts. She may be self-conscious about her body, but in heat like that, it was easy to become delirious. She took a towel and wiped her face, which was already starting to collect sweat in the five minutes she'd been outside.

Placing her hands on her hips, she observed the car she'd dirtied the night before. It wasn't completely her fault. It's not like she'd deliberately dirtied it up just to spite her dad. She groaned, picked up the hose, and started spraying.

"It looks even worse in the light," a voice said from behind her.

Taylor turned around and was faced with Chad Danforth, one of her friends, wearing a pair of denim shorts and no shirt, and sweat coating his chest.

She glared at him. "Yeah, thanks for that."

"Sorry we messed up your car," he apologized, glancing at it. "Who would've thought Gabriella's birthday picnic would turn into a food fight?"

"Well, you started it, so..." Taylor trailed off.

He chuckled. "I guess I did." He grinned at her. "Well, would you like a hand?"

"Do you need an answer?" she responded, and tossed him a sponge. She picked up the hose and started to rinse the car again. She was leaning over the hood of the car so she could squirt the windshield, when she felt something cold on her roasting back.

She screamed out loud and jumped, whipping around with the hose still in her hand. Chad was standing behind her, and he got soaked from the spray of the water. "Oh, my God," she exclaimed, and switched off the hose. Chad stood, dripping wet, in front of her, his hair drooping from the water. He shook his head from side to side, and flecks of water few everywhere. "Sorry!" she exclaimed but she was laughing anyway.

He brushed the hair out of his eyes. "What was that for?"

"You put something on my back," Taylor retorted, and she glanced behind her. "Looks like it was soap."

"Well, you're gonna pay!" growled Chad playfully. He dove for the hose and started spraying her with it. She shrieked loudly, bending down and covering her face as she got drenched.

"Stop!" she cried. "Stop!"

Chad dropped the hose at the urgency in her voice. "What's wrong?" he asked, concerned, as she wiped the water from her eyes. Taking advantage of his guard being down, she picked up the bucket full of soap and dumped it on his head, shouting with laughter.

Shaking his head again to rid it up the soap duds, he yelled, "That's it!" He picked up the hose and started to spray her again. She squealed and ran to the other side of the car, ducking out of sight. Chad ran around and squirted her again and she giggled uncontrollably as she continued her mission to avoid the stream of water.

"Taylor!" came a stern voice from the front door. The two of them froze, looking around to see Taylor's father watching them, a hard look on his face. "What are you doing?"

"Um... this is Chad," Taylor stammered. "He-he's helping me."

Her father narrowed his eyes. She knew he'd seen them messing around and didn't believe her, but he didn't say anything about it. "Hurry it up," was all he said before retreating back into their house.

Taylor snatched the hose back from Chad and shot him a look. "Thanks. That's twice in twenty-four hours you've gotten me in trouble."

"You started it," he retaliated.

"Whatever." She picked up the sponge again and started to scrub the driver's door. "Just help me or go away."

Chad bent down and picked up a second sponge. He began to wash the spot next to her, and all was quiet for a few minutes until she felt a speck of water on her cheek. She wiped it away and continued scrubbing, but a moment later she felt another, large ball of soap foam land on her shoulder.

She glared over at Chad, who was hiding a smile as he wiped the window in a circular motion. "What are you doing?"

"What?" he asked innocently.

"Stop distracting me," she snapped. "My dad'll kill me."

There were quiet for a few more minutes as they continued to clean. It didn't take long for the water Chad had sprayed her with earlier to dry up under the boiling sun, and she almost felt like the heat radiating off her skin was actually visible. The water on her forehead was replaced with sweat, and she swiped at it.

As she was cleaning the back of the car, she felt some cool liquid trickling onto her head. "Chad!" she yelled, turning around and catching him in the act of squeezing his sponge over her head.

"Um..."

She threw her sponge at him and stomped away, and Chad craned his neck to see where she was going. "Come on, Taylor, I was kidding!" he called. "Don't be --"

He was cut off by a powerful jet of water hitting him square in the back. The force was so powerful that he stumbled forward, and turned his head to see Taylor grinning evilly at him. He tried to run at her but she sprayed him again, laughing loudly.

Unluckily for her, he was still able to approach her. However, before he could actually touch her, she threw the hose down and took off down the street. Her bare feet pounded on the sweltering black asphalt as she sprinted. Her soaking hair was slapping her back, and she could hear Chad running after her.

He was faster than her, but she had enough of a head start to reach the park five houses down from her own before he caught her. She ran onto the grass, her feet red and pounding, when she felt a pair of hands around her stomach. They caused her to crash down onto ground, hitting her shoulder. The two had been running so fast that they continued to roll after hitting the earth.

After a couple of turns, they finally stopped, Chad laying on top of her. "Thanks for that," she said sarcastically, glancing down at her bruised shoulder.

The two were both covered in sweat, water and soap. The drops from Chad's wild hair was dripping into her eyes from where his head was, directly over hers.

It took a couple seconds for them to realize the awkward position they were in. One of Chad's knees was in between her legs; the other was on the opposite side. He was steadying himself with his arms on the ground, on either side of Taylor's head. For some reason when they were rolling, Taylor had gripped his upper arms, and she had yet to let go. Her right leg was snaked around his left.

He grinned cockily at her, blocking the sun from her eyes with his head.

"You gonna get off me?" she asked quietly, even though she didn't really want him too.

"No, I don't think so," he responded softly. He bent his arms slightly, so his head drew closer.

She blinked. "What are you doing?"

He bent down in answer, his lips grazing very softly over hers. Pulling back, he brushed a piece of wet hair off her face and ran his palm over the side of her head. She slowly reached out and placed her hand on top of his. The skin was rough, but it felt so nice against her soft hand.

She leaned up and captured his lips in another kiss; a deeper kiss. He responded eagerly and pressed his mouth hard against hers so that her head fell back against the ground again. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he placed his hands on her hip bones, rolling them over so they were side by side. Their legs entwined with one another, fitting them together like a puzzle piece.

They probably wouldn't ever have stopped. They most likely would have continued kissing until they died from lack of oxygen. There was no reason for them to stop, except...

"Taylor!" her father barked from across the street. "What the _hell_ do you think you're doing?"


	9. Taylor and Ryan

**AN:** OMG HOLLA. I haven't posted one of these since July. YES, JULY. But, to be fair, I'd been primarily writing "Forget Yesterday," which I think most of you enjoyed, so hopefully that makes up for it.

Also, I know I said I was gonna try and include Zeke in the next Kiss, but... I came up with a better one for Taylor and Ryan (one of my new fave couples!). This was originally supposed to be a Taylor/Zeke kiss, but... Zeke warped into Ryan.

_**THIS IS AN AU**_, by the way. It takes place during HSM 2.

**Title: **_Kiss  
_**Rating:** _T  
_**Author: **_MadiWillow  
_**Summary: **_A compilation of various couples' first kisses.  
_**Genre:** _Romance  
_**Chapter: **_Taylor and Ryan_

The black sky was littered with bright silver stars; the cloudless night allowed the stars to be illuminated even brighter than perhaps normal. The breeze in Albuquerque was a bit stronger and colder than normal, especially in summer. Mother Nature seemed to be aware that the participants in the Lava Springs staff baseball game were still a bit tired and thus overheated, even if darkness had fallen.

Ryan Evans smiled against the wind, his eyes closed. He was sitting on the edge of the golf course, where a boulder was stationed. His back was against it, his legs bent and his knees about a foot above the ground; he rested his elbows on them.

"Hey."

He opened his eyes and glanced up, spying Taylor, who was still dressed in her Activities Coordinator uniform.

"Can I sit down?"

He nodded. "Yeah, sure." He scooted himself over a couple inches, allowing Taylor to take a seat next him. She leaned against the boulder as well, and took a breath. "It's really nice out tonight."

"Yeah," he agreed. "It's a little cool, but it feels good."

"Especially after that game." Taylor turned to him with a grin. "You did great."

Ryan chuckled. "Yeah, I did so great that I _lost_," he joked.

She smiled. "Oh, you know what I mean. You guys pulled off some pretty impressive plays."

"Thanks." He smiled back appreciatively.

She leaned her head back, so that she could straight up to the sky. He followed suit.

"So, what are you still doing here?" he asked after a few moments' silence.

"Oh, well, Gabriella's my ride home," Taylor responded.

Clearing his throat, Ryan asked, "Where is she?"

Taylor was quiet for a few seconds before answering. "She's trying to get a hold of Troy. Her _boyfriend_," she emphasized.

Ryan sat up straighter and blinked at her. "I know who Troy is."

She straightened up too and stared at him. "Do you? Because, I happened to notice a couple of interesting glances you were sending Gabriella earlier..."

Ryan forced a laugh. "What? Are you crazy? I don't... Gabriella and I... she doesn't --"

"I know _she_ doesn't," Taylor interrupted, and he fell silent. "Look, Gabriella and Troy... they might be having problems, but she's happy with him. You can't... like her, you know."

"I don't --" he began immediately, but she cut across him again.

"I know you're drawn to her, in some way," she said. "But you... you just can't."

Ryan sighed deeply. He turned slightly to the right, so that he was facing Taylor. "I know that. I know that I shouldn't, but, it's... I just haven't had many friends aside from Sharpay. You know that, we've known each other since elementary school."

She nodded thoughtfully. "You like Gabriella because she's the first person to approach you for friendship?" she mused thoughtfully. Ryan said nothing. "Well, Ryan... I mean, it's not like none of us like you."

He gave a small smile. "Yeah. Okay."

"Seriously!" she cried, turning her own body to face him. "Well, I don't know about everyone else, but I'm personally a little afraid to approach you sometimes when you're around Sharpay," she admitted bashfully.

He laughed loudly. "Really?"

"Hey!" she exclaimed defensively. "Sharpay's pretty intimidating, okay?" she retorted, but she giggled.

Ryan shrugged. "Nah, I mean, I guess I can understand that. I'm almost afraid to go up to her sometimes, and we're related. So I get what you mean."

She nodded. "It's funny how different you are from Sharpay."

"Yeah... I get that a lot."

She laughed. She turned back again, so that she was leaning against the large rock. "But seriously, Ryan. You can't like Gabriella."

"No, I know," he said quietly. "I don't think I even do like her. Just... her willingness to accept me kind of... set off an infatuation. A very brief one."

Taylor nodded. "Yeah. I know how that is. It's happened to me before."

"Really?" He glanced over at her in interest. "With who?"

She sent a sad smile his way and looked over him, sending him a gaze that told him he knew who it was.

"Chad?" he voiced in confusion, and she nodded. "Really?" he said again, incredulously. "I thought... you two actually had something going on?"

"Well..." She bit her lip. "I thought so, too. It was all very spur of the moment... back in January, when he asked me to go to the after-party with him, I thought there was something. But it's been, like, six months now and nothing. I'm really starting to think that it was just the idea of having a boyfriend that I liked, not necessarily... him."

Ryan stared at her. "So..." he contemplated slowly. "You like guys who are assertive, then? Who'll make the first move?"

She was silent for a moment, letting his words roll around her mind. "Yeah, I guess so."

Quite suddenly, Ryan bent down and captured her lips in a kiss, and she was so surprised that she didn't kiss back. He pulled away, blushing deep tomato red. "I-I'm sorry," he sputtered nervously. "I-I just... sorry."

She blinked. "What are you doing?" she asked blankly.

He swallowed. "I – I don't know... I've kinda felt like... for you... a while ago, and then Chad... and you... I stopped... but now... I don't know," he finished lamely.

Despite her surprise, she half-grinned. "Wow, Ryan, that made a ton of sense."

He didn't smile back; his embarrassment was palpable. "I... well..." he began deliberately. "I kinda had a... crush on you, I guess... last year..." He avoided eye contact with her at all costs. "But then the whole musical thing, and you guys all hated me and Sharpay, and Chad asked you out, so I just kinda... stopped."

"Well," said Taylor, a teasing grin on her face as she knew she was humiliating him further. "You clearly didn't stop, if you just kissed me."

Ryan blushed even darker red, which Taylor hadn't thought possible. "I... sorry."

Before he even knew what was happening, Taylor had kissed him, this time with her doing the initiation. He wasted no time in wrapping one arm around her waist and cupping her cheek with his other hand.

She pulled away first for breath, being the less athletic of the two. They took deep breaths and didn't speak for a few seconds.

Ryan was the first one to break the ice. "... wow."

Taylor smiled sheepishly.

"So, uh... I guess we..." he stammered. "I mean, _are_ we...?"

Licking her lips, Taylor said, "You know... I think, for now... we should just keep it on the down-low, okay?" Noticing his frown, she quickly added, "Not for, like... anything bad. Just... some people kind of think Chad and I have something going, when we don't, so I have to take care of that. And there's kind of a bit of drama going on right now with Sharpay. Let's just take it easy for a couple days."

He sighed. "I guess that's probably the best thing to do..."

"How about after the staff party?" Taylor suggested. "That'll be a few days after the talent show --" at the mention of said performance, she rolled her eyes, "-- so whatever 'drama' goes down will have cooled by then."

He was still for a half a second, and then nodded. "Yeah... that makes sense."

They lapsed into another short silence. Taylor slid her hand into Ryan's and smirked at him. "Well, that doesn't mean we can't make out a little bit more."

He grinned at her and leaned in for another kiss.


End file.
